In automation technology, especially in process automation technology, field devices are often applied, which serve for registering and/or influencing process variables. Serving for registering process variables are sensors, such as, for example, fill level measuring devices, flow measuring devices, pressure- and temperature measuring devices, pH-redox potential measuring devices, conductivity measuring devices, etc., which register the corresponding process variables, fill level, flow, pressure, temperature, pH-value, and conductivity. Serving for influencing process variables are actuators, such as, for example, valves or pumps, via which the flow of a liquid in a section of pipeline, or the fill level in a container, can be changed. Referred to as field devices are, in principle, all devices, which are applied near the process and deliver, or process, process relevant information. Thus, in connection with the invention, field devices include also remote I/Os, radio adapters, or, generally, devices, which are arranged at the field level. A large number of such field devices are produced and sold by the firm, Endress+Hauser.
In modern industrial plants, communication between at least one superordinated control unit and the field devices occurs, as a rule, via a bus system, examples being Profibus® PA, Foundation Fieldbus® and HART® bus systems. The bus systems can be embodied both wired as well as also wirelessly. The superordinated control unit serves for process control, process visualizing, process monitoring as well as for start-up and servicing of the field devices and is also referred to as a configuration/management system. Programs, which run self-sufficiently on superordinated units, include, for example, the operating, or servicing, tools, FieldCare of Endress+Hauser, Pactware, AMS of Fisher-Rosemount and PDM of Siemens. Operating tools, which are integrated into control system applications include PCS7 of Siemens, Symphony of ABB and Delta V of Emerson. Included under the term ‘servicing of field devices’ is especially the configuring and parametering of field devices, however, also diagnosis for early detection of defects in the field devices or in the process.
The integration of field devices into configuration/management systems occurs usually via device descriptions, which enable that the configuration/management systems can detect and interpret the data delivered from the field devices. Already provided, as a rule, by the respective device manufacturers are the device descriptions for each field device type, respectively for each field device type in different applications. In order that the field devices can be integrated into different fieldbus systems, different device descriptions must be created for the different fieldbus systems. Thus there are to name only some examples HART, Fieldbus Foundation and Profibus device descriptions. The number of device descriptions is very large, they correspond to the large number of different field devices, respectively field device types, in the various applications and bus systems. Usually, the device descriptions must be stored in the respective configuration/management system.
For the purpose of creating a universal description language for field devices, Fieldbus Foundation (FF), HART Communication Foundation (HOF) and Profibus Nutzerorganisation (User Organization) (PNO) have created a unified electronic device description language (Electronic Device Description Language EDDL). The EDDL, or the corresponding Electronic Device Description EDD, is defined in the standard, IEC 61804-2.
Integration of field devices into the configuration/management systems occurs online, after installation of the field devices in the automated plant, by means of a DOS, a PLC, a notebook or other handheld tool. Likewise, it is known to conduct the integration offline via a configuration/management system and to integrate the field device then into the automated plant.
Before field devices can be configured or integrated into an automated plant, usually a corresponding project must be established in the configuration/or management system. For this, the structure of the network is defined, as well as the device manufacturer, the field device itself, the different versions of the field device, the function blocks, etc. Depending on the situation, also the device descriptions must be integrated into the configuration/management system. All of these measures are complex and labor and time intensive. Problematic is, furthermore, that the display units associated with the configuration/or management systems, the so-called GUIs, are usually system oriented, i.e. each system provider has its own GUI.
Before an operator can integrate a field device into a network, it is often necessary to instantiate function blocks, which enable accessing of configuration/parameter data. For this, work must be done offline and online.
Problematic is, also, that device descriptions have been preinstalled in the configuration/management systems, which, among other things, no longer describe the current version of the field device to be newly installed. In this case, it is necessary, supplementally, to install the lacking device description. For this, the operator must usually contact the device manufacturer and request the device description. This procedure is relatively time consuming and introduces, moreover, the danger that defective device descriptions get installed.
A further disadvantage of the integration methods known to this point in time is that, in the course of the project, always more information is found to be needed for installation, start-up and configuration of the field device and this must be input by the operating personnel manually via the configuration/management system.
In the non pre-published application DE 10 2009 045 386.5 of the assignee, as filed Oct. 6, 2009, at the German Patent Office, an arrangement is described, in which a field access unit, respectively a fieldbus interface, is so embodied that it continuously monitors the data traffic on the fieldbus. The field access unit has, thus, a listener functionality. Therefore, the fieldbus interface can, without that it itself performs active communication, collect a large amount of information concerning the network management of the automated plant.
Before the above described solution, ‘field access unit with listener functionality’, so-called gateways had only the function of converting between the different bus protocols at field- and system levels. Thus, at the field level, communication usually occurs via a fieldbus customary in automation technology, while communication at the system level occurs via Internet or intranet.